IT’S time for North and South once again. Not the pot-boiler from Mrs Gaskell that made us swoon over Lucas from Spooks but the annual clash of the rugby hemispheres.

The Tri Nations triple whammy is coming. The Big Three – Australia, South Africa, New Zealand – are in town over the next month with Fiji thrown in for a bruising good measure.

By the end of November the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness will have cooled into the crueller frosts of winter.

But will Wales be blown away like the last of the autumn leaves?

“To be the best you have to play the best” has been the mantra from Wales coach Warren Gatland.

And in this crucial curve of the World Cup cycle, facing all three southern hemisphere superpowers couldn’t be a better preparation for the challenge that awaits Wales in New Zealand less than a year from now.

Come 2.30pm today, however, all thoughts of the bigger picture will blur as the focus falls on the here and now of red and gold.

Wales v Australia always has the potential for more colour than New England in the fall. Two teams who relish high-tempo, creative, running rugby promise a spectacle to brighten the dankest November afternoon.

England v New Zealand will kick-off simultaneously in Twickenham and the home team’s defence coach has already predicted a game plan that sounds as dull as their new “anthracite” away strip.

“We want to make this a good old-fashioned Test rugby game,” declared Mike Ford. Yawn. This autumn should be about the shock of the new – as in the new laws.

The International Rugby Board’s Game Analysis Unit – headed by Wales’ own stats guru Corris Thomas – released a fascinating review of the 2010 Tri Nations tournament last week.

It showed how the new laws are favouring the speed, athleticism and attack-minded approach of southern hemisphere rugby.

Ball-in-play time had increased while tries were up almost 100% on the 2009 figure, reaching an average of 5.8% per match.

Last year’s unpopular outbreak of aerial ping pong had also been booted into touch.

The number of unchallenged punt kicks to the opposition was dramatically reduced while kicks out of hand were almost halved.

So Australia and New Zealand, in particular, are thriving on the changes in the game’s evolution. Anyone who watched their autumn warm-up contest in Hong Kong last Saturday will know these are teams prepared to attack from any part of the pitch.

This test series will demand the survival of the northern hemisphere’s fittest. Of the home nations, could Wales be best placed to embrace the expansive style that made that Bledisloe Cup encounter so entertaining?

As Gwyn Jones wrote in the Western Mail this week: “The temptation might be there to try to slow things down against such an expansive side but Gatland has emphasised the point the new laws will also help Wales play the high tempo recycling game they have pursued.”

If Wales are going to be drawn into a match where maverick magic could be key, it’s unfortunate they are unable to field their first-choice backline.

Injuries to Lee Byrne, Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts and an enforced positional switch of James Hook have stolen some of the stardust of Wales’ autumn campaign.

By contrast in the Wallaby ranks, from nine to 15 all that glisters is gold.

There’s Matt Giteau – he’s played nine and 10 and is now at 12, a player who can leave defences at sixes and sevens.

On the right wing the cherubic James O’ Connor exemplifies coach Robbie Deans’ faith in youngsters.

Last weekend it was O’Connor who scored the last-gasp try but to beat the All Blacks he had to convert it too and he did so with a composure that belied his baby-faced youth.

And, of course, there’s outside half Quade Cooper, the only player who gives our Shane a run for his money in the outrageously cheeky rugby skills department.

But the man who has dominated Welsh thoughts is David Pocock, the Wallaby openside who caused such turnover ball havoc for Wales at the breakdown last year, it felt like he beat us on his own.

After their first victory over New Zealand in 10 matches, Australia should arrive in the Millennium Stadium today with more spring in their step than Skippy.

Their expat supporters have already made the odyssey from Earl’s Court to Cardiff, travelling in expectation rather than hope – confidence, after all is in the Antipodean DNA.

The banter in the bars will be robust and racous. Having spent a bit of time Down Under with the Aussie fan fraternity I can vouch for their direct approach. “You lot played like a bunch of Sheilas!” was the chortle when the 2001 Lions combusted in the second test.

By the third test, they were sending planes over the Telstra stadium writing marketing messages in the sky that were about as subtle as a script for Prisoner Cell Block H: “Don’t Be A Big Pussy – Wear Gold!”.

Yet although the Wallabies start as favourites today, there is one area of the game where Wales must surely have the advantage – up front.

Before Australia’s backs can run more riotiously than a Tonypandy miner, their forwards have to win the tight game but Wales have the superior front five – four Lions and brilliant Bradley.

As Robbie Deans admits, “It will be all about the forward battle.”

So it’s time for North and South once again. We’re usually separated by 12,000 miles. This autumn we’ll see if Wales can close the gap.